


The World Seems Not The Same

by camshaft22



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-08
Updated: 2011-04-08
Packaged: 2017-10-18 14:40:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/189932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camshaft22/pseuds/camshaft22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Major David Parrish arrived on Atlantis, nothing was ever the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The World Seems Not The Same

**Author's Note:**

> **Warning/Notes** : Child abuse, harsh language. Thank you, thank you, thank you [](http://somehowunbroken.livejournal.com/profile)[**somehowunbroken**](http://somehowunbroken.livejournal.com/) for letting me spam you with this monster and for making it better.  
>  **Disclaimer** : Stargate Atlantis belongs to MGM and a lot of other people. Please do not sue.  
>   
> 

When Major David Parrish first crosses the event horizon into the so-called mythical city of Atlantis, he doesn’t much care about what the city is, what it means. It’s just another warzone to him, a bunch of pushy civilians and an idiot Zoomie who got in over his damn head and killed a good officer. It isn’t until the entire thing is over, when they’re taking Colonel Everett through the Gate back to Earth and he’s suddenly temporary Second in Command to Major John Sheppard, pending Earth approval, of the entire City of Atlantis that he figures out that he’s definitely in another universe and he’s standing in a City that might just be alive. David decides, even if he can’t feel the city, that he kind of likes it here.  

It isn’t until after the big wigs return that David is informed that he is 2IC of the soldiers on this base for real, not just standing in, and that he will start his own exploration team ASAP. David almost wants to kick the newly minted Zoomie Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard in the teeth, but he figures that might be a problem in the long run. Besides, he’s starting to like Sheppard and Atlantis. Man would’ve made a hell of a Marine, especially considering Colonel Sheppard’s half suicidal penchant for leaving no man behind. Those words had long been carved in David’s heart, but Sheppard took it a step further. He wouldn’t ever forget a lost man out there. David thinks it’s tragic that a fellow Marine fell as far as Ford did, but he’s pretty certain he’d kill the man before letting him near him again. Ford was pathetic, a shame to the Corps. But the Colonel thinks he can be saved… and David’s job is to back up the Colonel. 

It’s later in the day that Sheppard comes around to their shared office and sits down. “Pick your team,” he tells him.

“Sir?”

“Gate team,” Sheppard tells him as if they’d been having this conversation the entire time. “Who do you want? You’re the leader of AR-2 Get a scientist, maybe someone familiar with local customs… some soldiers. You know this from the SGC, right?”

“No, sir. I was pulled into the program just a little before I came through to rescue Atlantis, Sir.”

“Hm. So you’re like I was. Tossed in the deep end.”

“Marines don’t drown, Sir.” David said quickly as Sheppard grinned at him.

“We’ll see, Major. Get your team together.”

***

David sighed as he looked at the digital files open on his laptop. This was going to suck balls. The only he liked so far was Lieutenant Cadman; she was a Marine. She understood. These others though… not so much.  He glanced up as Laura entered the room with her normal vibrancy.

“I have the answer to your problem!” Laura announced.

“And that is, Lieutenant?”

“Dr. Evan Lorne. He wants Gate experience.”

“Who?” David asked, not remembering that file.

“Dr. Evan Lorne. He’s an astrogeologist, sir. I was eating lunch with Ali-“

“Ali?”

“Dr. Porter. She’s on Teldy’s team.  She’s Mehra’s little project. Dusty is convinced she has the talent to be a sniper. I’m starting to agree a little. Ali’s a little scared still but once you put the weapon in her hands, she falls in. Does everything you tell her to. But anyway, I was eating lunch with her plus Mehra and we were talking about teams. Mehra shot off her mouth, I said something, and to stop us from starting another food fight, Alison spoke up and suggested that maybe our team would be more complete if he had someone willing and she pulled Lorne over. After talking a little with him, I think he’d make a good addition. He’s first wave, so he’s seen some shit.”

David nodded, not bothering to give her a reprimanding look for the curse word. Cadman was a good Marine. He could overlook a few phrases. “Send him my way then, Lieutenant.”

Laura grinned widely. “I’ll him up here within the hour, Sir.”

True to her word, an hour later, there was a chime at the door. David looked up. “Come in!” he yelled as a short man with close-cropped dark hair stepped into the room.

“Hi. I’m Doctor Evan Lorne. You’re Major Parrish?” he asked.

David looked him up and down. “Yeah, that’s what they call me. Why do you want to be on a Gate team?”

“Well, I have the Gene; none of the people you have do. I will need to get out there more so I can take samples and test them against what I’ve managed to bring from Earth…”

“Your scores on the field are… lackluster, Doc. Are you really sure you want this? I might not be able to babysit you the entire time,” David told him.

Lorne’s nose flared. “I can handle myself, Major. Those scores aren’t indicative of what I can do.”

“Oh?” David asked with a raised eyebrow.

“There was an incident on one of the planets. I had to use a weapon. Markham said I did good… but I can’t. If I’m not in trouble, I get really uncomfortable around weapons. I hate them.”

“You’ll be around weapons constantly if you want to be on a team…”

“I know that Major. But I have to do it,” Evan told him. “I want to do it.”

David nodded. He was going to regret this. “Alright. You’re it. I’ll tell Colonel Sheppard that my team is complete.”

Evan smiled at him excitedly. “Thank you, Major,” he told the Major before he turned and left.

David leaned back in his chair, sighing. This was going to be a giant mistake.

***

“So I heard Ronon beat up most of the security teams,” Colonel Sheppard said as they worked on paperwork. Sometimes the Colonel showed up, most times David just found it done on his desk for review and sometimes his own signature. He still wasn’t sure where the Colonel went to do it, but he seemed to have found hidey holes that even David couldn’t suss out. David would’ve put a tracking device on him, but the Ancient scanners were better and he had a feeling Atlantis would somehow protect Sheppard. It was just a hunch, but he still thought the city had some sort of life within the computers.

“Do you know why, Sir?” David asked, not sure where he was going with all this.

“They were sparring apparently. Every one of them wants to go again. Thought that might be up your alley, Major.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Sir,” David told him, considering it. He wasn’t lax on his hand to hand, but it might be kind of interesting to fight someone who was almost the same size as he was.  David finished up and noticed that Sheppard had already slipped out.  There were a lot of times where he just hated the Colonel.

***

David found Ronon Dex in the exercise room, fighting with Esperanzo. David could see the unrestrained rage in the alien man. After Esperanzo went down like a bitch, David walked into the ring. The Marines all straightened up when he came close, a ripple effect that David actually got a kick out of. Dex met his eyes and David almost stilled, but he had a roomful of men to keep impressed, so he didn’t let it affect him. But he’d seen eyes like that before, and it always ended up in stitches for him.

“So, I hear you’ve been through some shit. You wanna show me what you got?” David asked, loosening up and becoming fluid grace.

Dex scoffed, already underestimating him. David wasn’t stupid. He knew what people thought. He wasn’t as skinny as he could be, but he also wasn’t built like Greer. But the important thing that David knew was that size wasn’t what mattered in a fight. It was knowing what to do five steps ahead of the other guy.

They were circling when Dex struck out. David twisted and got close, kneeing him in the gut.  It was David’s way of warning Dex not to underestimate him. They fought, neither of them giving in. Then all of a sudden, David saw something in his eyes and snapped, knocking him cold. David was out of there and getting someone for Dex before he even knew it, knowing he was fucked.

***

David hid under the table, covering his mouth as his face swelled. Daddy was mad again, and he had hit David for showing him his school work. Now he and Mommy were screaming at each other. He wouldn’t cry… he wouldn’t move, he wouldn’t be the target again. He laid down, hand firmly over his mouth as he fought to breathe. What would he tell Mrs. Bell tomorrow? He fell. He tripped over his truck and tumbled down the stairs. He’d tell her and then they wouldn’t send him away to foster care. It was his job to be there for Mommy. She would miss him if he was sent away.

David fell asleep under the table and missed school for a week. His mother didn’t want the authorities to get called again.

***

David stood in front of Dr. Weir, answering her questions and generally feeling like an asshole for being good enough to coldcock Ronon Dex. They seemed satisfied and the large man didn’t really care. He was more surprised… everyone was. David claimed it was just a thing about him being trained to kill, but he knows that’s a lie. It was something else. Dex’s eyes… it was just like being that kid again. Maybe they could just never spar again. This suited him just fine. David was soon dismissed and he left the office, hurrying off to bury himself in paperwork… or maybe put together his team.

***

“Major! Come here and look at this! These samples are amazing!” Dr. Evan Lorne called over at him as he carefully packed away the rocks and the soils. David glanced at Laura and grinned at her.

“Keep your eyes peeled,” David told her before he wandered over to where Dr. Lorne was crouched.

“Always do, Sir,” Laura told him as she met Reed’s eyes and they spread out.

“What are we looking at here, Doc?” David asked as Lorne showed him a crystal.

“This sample will help us understand how this world came to so messed up. It’ll give us a jump start on understanding a lot about global warming,” he explained.

“Global warming, huh?” David asked.

“You might not think it’s a big deal, but it is a serious issue,” Lorne told him with a grin.

David found himself grinning back. “No, no. It’s serious. Right up there with Wraith attack.”

“Har, har,” Lorne said with a scoff. “I’m done here,” he told him.

“Great. Let’s get this show on the road then,” David told him, leaning down and reaching towards one of the boxes.

There was a noise that alerted him instantly.  “Stay down. If anything happens, run your ass to the Gate,” he ordered Lorne, who looked at him astonished but luckily didn’t ask any damn questions.  David lifted his P-90 and looked around. “Alright, you son of a bitch, show yourself,” he said quietly, scanning the cliff and the brush around them. It wasn’t until he heard the whine of a Wraith stunner that he realized that he was in deep shit.

***

David woke up, his hands chained above his head, still wearing his uniform. His captors were smart though.  Everything else was stripped off him, even his boots, and he didn’t like that. They even got the extra knife that he kept hidden… and the other back up.

He did not like this one bit.

Still, David stayed quiet, trying to listen, place himself. If there was one thing he was good at, it was being silent. After years of not wanting to be noticed, he had it down to a fine art. He didn’t have the slightest clue where the fuck he was, but they hadn’t killed him yet.

Leverage. He was a goddamn hostage. Oh, that did not fly in David Jerome Parrish’s worldview. He was going to show these sons of bitches why it was a damn fool mistake to underestimate him and oh, yeah, kidnap his ass. But… it did beg the question. Why?

There was a noise down the hall and David immediately went limp, his eyes almost closed as he watched, looking for a clue to what this could be about.

Evan was pushed forward. His hands were shackled in front of him, and his legs were also restrained.

“Move your ass,” the guard told him.

“I’m trying to, but I’m a little hindered,” Evan responded, trying to sound reasonable.

“Shut up. You’ll be here with your friend until morning. You be good and we might let him live. But either way, more tests for you.”

“Oh, goody goody gumdrops. I can’t wait to be poked, prodded and treated like a lab animal. Fantastic,” Evan told him dryly as the guard pushed him forward and Evan fell into the cell, landing with an ooph. “Hey! Don’t bruise the product! Your evil overlord might get pissed off!” Evan yelled at him as he rolled over onto his back and flipped him off. The guard ignored him and left the two of them alone after locking the door.

“You shouldn’t taunt them. I don’t want you to end up hurt, Lorne,” David told him as Evan jumped and turned towards David.

“Oh my God. I thought they had killed you or something. You scared the shit out of me!” Evan said.

“Let them think whatever. But God, I wasn’t expecting you to have such an attitude. What the hell are they doing to you?”

“They’re taking blood samples and torturing me to measure my acceptance to pain. I’m not sure why, but I think it has something to do with the Gene,” Evan told him.

David looked at him. “You’re awfully calm about torture, Doc.”

Evan gave him a cool look. “It’s not… I can’t really let my emotions get the most of me. Not now. Later, yes. But if I lose it now, they’ll hurt you. I don’t want that,” he said, his voice shaking slightly. “I’ll be fine.”

“Will you be fine when they start cutting things off?” David asked him. “I’m not the one that needs protecting. Out of both of us, you’re more valuable. I want you to stop fighting and give me a little time. I’ll get free and get you back.”

Evan looked at him, glaring. “Do you value yourself so little?”

“Nothing about value, Doc. I’m a dime a dozen back home. You, on the other hand, are valuable to our hostage takers. If they kill me, it’s another dead Marine. No one’s going to give a fuck. You, on the other hand, are going to save the fucking world with your shit. Stop fucking provoking them.”

Evan looked at him, his nostrils flared in anger. “No.”

David looked at him, scowling. “Listen to my orders, Doctor. I’m trying not to let you get killed.”

“I’ll do what I like. I’m a civilian, remember?” Evan told him, digging his heels in.

David looked at him and closed his eyes. “Yeah? You’ll change your tune. I’ve seen it before.”

“Fuck you, Major.” Lorne told him, turning away from him.

David tried not to let his smile show. Let their captors chew on that.

***

Evan looked at his captors, figuring it out. These guys were Genii. How had he not seen it before? But… they seemed different. They were definitely some of Cowen’s scientists.  He breathed, forcing himself to remain calm as they tested his tolerance for pain. Evan pushed himself not to feel it, to just take it so they didn’t turn on David. He was so angry with him, but he was someone that Evan liked. He would deal with this… he could deal with this.

“Nrghh!” Evan let out a noise as they collected spinal fluid.

“Shh. Be a good boy,” A voice told him, stroking his side. “Be a good boy and this does not have to hurt as much.”

“Shut your mouth,” Evan hissed, trying to pull away.

The voice jerked the needle free, making Evan cry out. “Such demands. There are nicer ways to request things.”

“I’m not interested in you. Sorry, Genii Scientist Number 27,” Lorne told him dryly.

The man hesitated, obviously thrown by Lorne’s statement. “But you are interested in men… Interesting.”

“Oh, don’t tell me, it’s taboo in your culture , right?” Evan said, getting annoyed.

“No. It’s often best to have some sort of offspring, because of the Wraith, but I would’ve guessed your society wouldn’t be so allowing of it. Perhaps I am wrong. Get the subject back to its cage,” the man said dismissively as the soldier took Lorne away.

Evan put that away in the growing collection of stuff he was discovering about the Genii.

***

John moved through the complex, keeping quiet and sneaking around. He counted in his mind, knowing he had a time limit.  Cadman was on the other side of the complex with Stackhouse and Markham, making a distraction. He snuck up upon a soldier and snapped his neck, dropping him silently as he checked to make sure the hallway was clear. He walked a few more feet and heard voices.

“- is late. The soldier…. Soldier Number 16 is late. He’s never late.”

“Are you that into torture, Doc? You know there’s Heightmeyer, right? You should consider talking with her. Just tossing that out there.”

“Ha, ha. Seriously, they’ve been expecting something. Things just don’t seem right. Genii Scientist Number 3 was nervous.”

John glanced through the door, seeing Parrish looking at Lorne as he stood, looking ready to move, but his hands and wrists chained to short leads in between. Parrish was chained to the wall and looked pretty rough. John made a psst noise. “Hey. You guys want to get out of there?” he whispered loudly.

“Sir? If that’s you, I’ll do your paperwork,” Parrish said with relief.

“It’s me, Major. And I’ll hold you to that. Take a step back. I’m going to shoot the lock. Cadman’s creating a diversion on the other side and it might be good to have you guys out and headed to the Gate.”

“You let Cadman do the diversion?” David asked, his eyes wide.

“Uh, yeah. She said she had an idea,” John told him, shooting the lock as the door shook and opened. He rushed in and cursed softly, realizing that he didn’t have a way to get the cuffs picked.

“Try the guard. You dropped him, right?” David asked.

“Well, yeah, but- yeah, okay,” John said, running out of the cell then returning with the keys. He unlocked them both as David got to his feet with a hiss. John reached towards him.

“It’s nothing, Sir. We need to haul ass,” David told him.

“Alright, follow me,” John told him. “Why is it bad that Cadman’s doing the diversion?”

“You’ll see, Sir. Can we move our asses, please?” he said, forcing himself to move. Lorne was on his heels and John poured on the speed as the compound shook and dust rained upon them.

“What the hell? An explosion?!” John asked.

“That’s the opening salvo. We need to get clear,” David told them as they ran out and kept running a few more feet. Then all at once, the compound exploded in several large fireballs. Laura walked towards them, her smile able to light the entire Earth for three years.

“Cadman! What the hell was that?!” John yelled at her.

Laura paused a second. "You said I should distract them, sir. It was either this or dancing naked, and it's a little cold out,” she said, then hastily added. “Sir."

David chuckled. “Good to know you’re on our side, Cadman.”

“Can we please go home?” Lorne piped up.

John looked at the Doctor. “Definitely.”

***

David leaned back in his chair, relaxing a minute as he heard the chime go off. “Enter!” he called out then straightened up, seeing Lorne there. “Doctor Lorne. I didn’t realize they released you yet. I was going to come and see you,” he told him.

Evan frowned and gave him a look that suggested that he didn’t believe that. “We need to talk. Now, please.”

“I’ve got a lot of paperwork to do,” David told him, trying to avoid talking about what had happened.

“Colonel Sheppard told me that you were finished.”

David scowled. Of course he did. “Well, what do you want to talk about?”

Evan took a seat, not even waiting for an invitation. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“They were using me as leverage. To get you to do whatever they wanted. So I was trying to get you pissed off. So you’d fight me instead of giving them backtalk and getting yourself killed or hurt worse. Did it work?”

“Yes. Yes, you pissed me off. But your plan was stupid. Don’t do it again. Please,” Evan told him.

“You really think it was that terrible?” David asked.

“I’ve seen Kavanagh come up with better plans,” Evan told him dryly.

“Ouch. Are we friends now?”

“Yes. We’re friends. Laura would kill us otherwise,” Evan told him with a grin.

“We’ve got to get you over this fear of her. She ain’t that tough.”

Evan rolled his eyes. “You are so full of it. She is.”

“Alright, alright… Whatever. But, are we cool?” David asked.

Evan looked at him, slightly blushing. “We’re cool.”

***

David walked down to the West Pier of the City, already hearing voices and music as well as splashes coming from the swimming area. Laura had decided to arrange a team plus a few others pool party and he had, very reluctantly, gone along with it. David waved at Laura as she splashed Dr. Porter. She laughed and dove under, swimming towards him. David put down his towel, wondering what the hell he was doing here, when time stopped.

Evan was hanging around the makeshift grill, which Markham and Stackhouse were manning. David’s eyes roamed over his body, seeing his tattoos and the surprising muscle tone. He hadn’t realized Lorne was so… attractive. He hadn’t really felt anything like this for another person in a long time. David didn’t know how to deal with that. All of a sudden, he was hit with a splash of water, soaking his tank top. He turned and looked at Laura. “Damnit, Lieutenant!”

“I’m a Captain now, Sir. You pinned the pins yourself,” Laura told him.

“And I regret it every day,” David griped at her.

“You’re so mean to me,” Laura pouted.

“You love it,” David told her.

“I do, Sir. Now, take of your shirt and get in here!” Laura ordered him.

David shook his head with a roll of his eyes as he took off his soaked shirt. He was keenly aware of the looks he was getting as his team and their friends found the scars that puckered his torso and back. Bullet scars in his sides and across his chest and then there was the cigarette burn his dad had put in his back, near his spine, between his shoulder blades. David didn’t let it bother him as he jumped into the water and splashed Laura. It was, to David’s mind, a pretty fun time. Maybe he’d have to rethink his policy of not letting Cadman have her way too often.

***

David heard familiar voices as he approached Cadman and Lorne from behind.

“I know you know about him… Give me something, Laura,” Evan told her. David looked around and ducked into an alcove nearby.

“Actually, I don’t. No one knows anything about Parrish… he’s an enigma wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in chocolate pudding. Which he likes, by the way.”

“Well, that’s something at least, but seriously…. You know something, don’t you? What about those burn scars?”

“I know nothing. Seriously, Ev… I know nothing,” Laura protested. “There’s some scuttlebutt but-“

“Scuttlebutt? What is that?” Evan asked.

“What? You’ve been surrounded by Marines this long and you don’t know what scuttlebutt is? I fear for you.” Laura told him. “Ali knows what it means.”

“Alison is friends with Mehra, who, if I’m correct, speaks in mostly Marine slang with random English phrases mixed in. When she’s not cursing people out in Arabic. I am not surprised that Alison can communicate with you… especially since she’s consistently in your bed.”

“Evan! Let’s just announce it to the entire base, huh?” Laura told him, punching his shoulder.

“Ow! Ok, ok, I’m sorry, Laura. I’m sorry… but I don’t know what it means… Explain?” Evan asked.

“Rumors. Rumors are… David is… he doesn’t have a family… in fact, a lot of us think he was given up and raised in the Barracks. He’s a Marine… he’s a perfect Marine, Evan. Life is the Corps, the whole way. But others have suggested he used to be a criminal mastermind that went in to escape prison, others say he’s the lost soul of every lost Marine made human…”

“Laura!” Evan said, sounding none too impressed. “Give me a straight answer!”

“There isn’t one. That’s what I’m telling you. But the burn marks might be from bootcamp or something.”

“They’re too old for that… I come from a family of cops and investigators. Plus I’m an anal retentive son of a bitch. It happened when he was young… the scars are too old for it to happen anytime other than that.”

“So he was a child?” Laura asked.

“He had to have been…” Evan told her.

David quickly walked in the opposite direction.

***

David looked up as Evan sat across from him. “Hiya, Doc,” he said with a grin. Evan slid a chocolate pudding cup over to him.

“You like this, right?” he asked.

“Yup. My favorite! How did you know?” David asked, pretending that he hadn’t overheard anything.

“I asked Laura,” Evan told him.

“Snooping, Doc? Should I start calling you Holmes?” David teased him.

“See, now that is really funny. All of my family members are detectives, beat cops, or artists. I’m the oddball with the Geology degree.”

“Lucky for us,” David told him with a grin.

Evan hesitated and ate his food. “So… What’s with the cigarette burn?” he asked, licking his lips nervously.

David looked at him, his body language going loose and languid, and his face closing off. “Do you want the truth or a carefully constructed lie?” he asked.

“I- What? I want the truth. I’m your friend, I’m a person that… I like you. I like everything you’re about because we’re…  friends. Friends don’t lie to each other.”

David gave him a razor sharp smile. “My father did it.”

Evan’s jaw dropped. “He… That fucking bastard!” he exclaimed, looking at David. “Oh God, I’m sorry…”

David snorted and shrugged. “Don’t be. It’s not like it matters anyway. He drank himself to death after I graduated from Paris Island. My mother is somewhere, I think…” he said, frowning and looking thoughtful.

“You don’t know?” Evan asked, unable to comprehend this.

“I don’t care. I was their mistake. They didn’t want me. My dad beat me and my mother since before I could walk. As soon as I hit eighteen, I was out and in the recruiter’s office. The Marines are my family, Doc.”

Evan looked at him. “We’re your family too, David. I want to be your family anyway…”

David shook his head and stood up. “It’s alright, Doc. Things happen. I’ll see you around, right?” he offered, taking his tray and leaving the pudding as he walked away.

Evan watched him go, knowing he had royally screwed this one up.

***

David tried not to be upset. Lorne pitied him. He didn’t want it, he didn’t need it and he would rather die than have someone pity him. He’d move him. Or something. He didn’t want to lose Lorne; he thought most of the other scientists were irritating, really, but obviously he had overshared and now Lorne thought he was a little bitch. He thinned his lips and picked up a paperweight, tossing it across the room and breaking it.

“Whoa… Parrish. You okay, Sir?” Laura asked, coming into the office.

David looked at her. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just got irritated. You need something?”

“To talk to you, Sir.”

“About?”

“Evan Lorne.”

David looked at her. “I guess you know what happened then?”

“Yeah, he told me. You know he likes you, right?” Laura told him.

“I can’t tell you and you can’t ask about that, Cadman.”

“Oh bullshit, Sir. You like him…. You like him too, don’t you?” Laura pushed at him.

David’s nose flared as he glared at her. “That’s really none of your fucking business.”

“He is so in love with you, Parrish. He fucked up… but he loves you.”

“Oh, so it’s love, huh? Love is pity, love is what? Worthless?” David asked. “Fuck him and fuck you. Get out.”

Laura frowned at him. “Love isn’t worthless. It doesn’t have to be, Sir,” she told him, getting up and leaving the office, sealing the door behind her.

David growled and only just didn’t tip over the desk.

***

There was a chime at the door as David rolled his eyes and got up, heading to the door, wondering what emergency happened this time. He had been enjoying a few days of down time and trying to figure out his team.  David swiped his hand over the crystals and frowned, seeing Evan there. “Doc,” he said.

“I know I’m not your favorite person, and I know I messed up, but I wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to pry, and it wasn’t my place to react that way. I just wanted to get to know you better and it exploded in my face.  I’m sorry, David,” Evan told him earnestly.

David nodded. “It’s okay. It’s not like it matters,” he told him. “I guess I’ll see you at breakfast then?”

“I’ll be there. See you then,” Evan said, giving him a smile.

David watched him leave, feeling a little better.

***

David sat down at the table as he smiled at Evan. He started eating as Laura, Alison, and Reed joined them. Evan slid over a chocolate pudding as Laura started griping about how Sheppard wouldn’t let her have a whole pallet of C4 just for her.

David opened the pudding and started eating.

END


End file.
